Stop Asking What You Can Afford
One question I'm trying to ask less: "Can I afford this?"
For physicians, it's a weak filter. Once the attending income shows up, the answer is yes to almost anything, one purchase at a time.
The better question is what the purchase does to your options.
The bigger house might be affordable. It might also lock in a cost that means you need the big paycheck for the rest of your career. The car is fine too. But that money could be building investments or paying down debt. Or buying you the option to cut back a day someday.
I see a lot of doctors who make great money and still feel stuck. Usually it isn't one big mistake. It's a stack of reasonable upgrades that all became permanent.
Wealth, to me, is less about proving what you can buy and more about what you're free to choose.
The upgrades that sting most are the monthly ones. A splurge ends. A bigger mortgage keeps asking every month.
